Vale
Mining (iron ore, nickel, copper) · Brazil
Vale is one of the world’s largest iron ore miners: it digs high-grade ore in Brazil’s Carajás and Minas Gerais, moves it on its own railways and ports to steelmakers, mostly in China, and through Vale Base Metals also mines nickel and copper in Brazil, Canada and Indonesia.
What makes it different
It runs its own railways to move the ore.
US$21.3Iron ore C1 cash cost per tonneFY2025
Vale’s mine-to-port chain keeps iron ore cash costs among the industry’s lowest.
How big it is
How big is Vale?
US$38.4BNet operating revenueFY2025
336.1MIron ore productionFY2025
65,805Employees2025
How it makes money FY2025
Iron ore brings two thirds of revenue.
- Iron ore65%US$25.0B
- Iron ore pellets11%US$4.4B
- Nickel11%US$4.3B
- Copper10%US$3.8B
- Other3%
How the business works
Mine high-grade ore, own the railway, ship to China.
- 1Carajás high-grade iron ore
- 2Own railways and ports
- 3Chinese steelmakers
Owning the mine-railway-port chain keeps cash costs near US$21 a tonne, so Vale earns even when iron ore prices fall.
Who owns it
- Previ (Banco do Brasil employees’ pension fund)8%
- BlackRock, Inc.7%
- Mitsui & Co., Ltd.6.7%
CEO: Gustavo Duarte Pimenta
Who it competes with
BBHPRRio TintoFFortescueAAnglo AmericanGGlencore
Key moments
- 1942Companhia Vale do Rio Doce is founded
- 1997Vale is privatised
- 2006Acquisition of Canada’s Inco
- 2015Fundão dam failure at Samarco
- 2019Brumadinho dam failure
Sources
Every number on this page comes from Vale's own reports.
Full profile
The rest of the story is in the app.
What Vale tracks16 metrics
Iron ore production
Copper production
Nickel production
Results, quarter by quarterwith a chart
Revenue
Profit
Margin
Where the money comes from7 regions
China
Europe (incl. Germany)
Asia ex China and Japan
The full timeline20 moments
2024
2025
2026
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